UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
20 results
Search Results
Item EKO RESILIENCE – (RE)DESIGNING RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE RESILIENT FOR THE URBAN POOR IN LAGOS, THE COASTAL CITY.(2024) AJAERO, UCHEYA; Simon, Madlen G; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis addresses the urgent need for resilient community housing solutions in Lagos, where there is a growing deficit of well-designed, affordable, and accessible homes, particularly for the low-income population. The research recognizes the challenges of urban decay, transportation issues, and flooding, disproportionately affecting the poor. In Lagos, the complex interdependence of rich and poor social networks is evident, with low-income individuals often residing in slums near high-income neighborhoods or facing long commutes. The thesis aims to go beyond providing shelter and explores how affordable housing can contribute to overall urban resilience. Emphasizing four critical criteria, the research aims to show how affordable housing can support social and economic structures, reduce vulnerability to environmental risks, enhance personal security, and empower communities for self-governance. The thesis adopts a comprehensive approach, considering the broader social, economic, ecological, and political dynamics in the quest for resilient housing solutions.Item Perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms: An analysis of the protective effects of ethnic identity in female Latinx college students(2023) Cerrato, Stephanie; O'Neal, Colleen; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Disordered eating in college student populations is highly prevalent. Even so, eating disorder research has largely centered on risk and protective factors relevant to White women, while neglecting to focus on the experiences of people with marginalized identities. The current cross-sectional study a) assessed the relation between evaluative concerns and strivings subscales of perfectionism on disordered eating symptoms in Latinx college women, and b) determined if a high sense of ethnic identity may moderate this relation such that as ethnic identity increases, the effects of perfectionism on disordered eating symptoms decreases. Latinx women from a Mid-Atlantic university (n = 113) completed self-report questionnaires of perfectionism, ethnic identity, and disordered eating. Results revealed that evaluative concerns was a positive predictor of dietary restraint, shape and weight over-evaluation, and body dissatisfaction. Moderation results were non-significant.Item The City Symbiotic: Integrating Architecture and Hydrology in the Public Realm(2021) Piltz, Shayne Michelle; Bell, Matthew J; Hendricks, Marccus; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis approaches climate resilience through a comprehensive urban-scale system that incorporates integrated stormwater management to address sea-level rise and urban flooding, while leveraging the power of community as a tool for environmental stewardship. The City Symbiotic has dual notions. At its core, the concept alludes to a mutually beneficial relationship between the built and natural environment. This thesis will be an exploration of designing with water through the lens of climate resilience. Built structures will incorporate an integrated stormwater management network for capturing, filtering, storing, and reusing water, bettering our understanding of the symbiotic relationship between the built and natural environment by blurring the line between the two. The City Symbiotic is also a reference to the relationship between people and their environment. In this respect, this thesis approaches climate resilience through community and connection. Climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities that are the result of historical planning failures like Euclidean and exclusionary zoning, urban disinvestment, car-centric planning, environmental racism, and displacement. Reimagining the civic commons as a more inclusive and resilient center of public life can help redress marginalization and inspire environmental stewardship. The outcome of this thesis will demonstrate the value of symbiotic urban design, connecting the built, natural, and human environments to build resilience to water-related impacts of climate change.Item Telepathic Maps: A Study in Ongoingness(2021) Gerardo, Renee; Widrig, Patrik; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)“Telepathic Maps: a study in ongoingness” is the written thesis prepared as research and reflection of the dance performance of “telepathic maps” in January 2021, a requirement for the M.F.A. at the University of Maryland. The process of creating and writing about the dance was undertaken during the CoVid-19 pandemic. Using my own personal experience as a triathlete and dancer, I posit that endurance, usually associated with athletics, can behave differently when explored through the dynamics of dance. The collaborative process and performance of “telepathic maps” are put in conversation, demonstrating how endurance provided multiple entry points to manifest the physical and artistic research. Though the original performance was cancelled due to the pandemic, the writing process revealed answers about the performative nature of endurance; that even with a finish line, the step beyond it is more meaningful than the perceived endpoint. An accessible structure was created, allowing the dance to surpass notions of performance as product and therefore representing the inherent ongoingness of my artistic and pedagogical practice.Item Exploring complexity in well-being: A mixed methods examination of the Black women’s well-being paradox(2021) Ford, Tiffany N; Graham, Carol; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores the complexity of Black women’s well-being and policy experience along the income distribution. This dissertation consists of three separate but related essays. Chapter 1 argues for the active inclusion of intersectionality theory in social and economic policy work. I rely on the literature to draw clear links between the intersectionality theoretical framework, the study of subjective well-being, and the development of equitable public policy to support well-being. In chapter 2, I explore an intracategorical complexity approach to intersectionality, focusing on unpacking the layers of difference among Black middle-class women and investigating how they relate to well-being. Using qualitative focus group data, I uncover the key factors shaping well-being for 22 Black middle-class women in Wichita, KS and Las Vegas, NV and discuss what a policy agenda might look like to support their well-being. Results of this transformative exploratory sequential mixed methods design suggested health, money, and social support, like friendships, family, and romantic partnerships, were core determinants of well-being for Black middle-class women. Quantitatively, Black middle-class women’s well-being and determinants differed significantly by their level of education and by a combination of their parenthood and marital status. This work revealed that structural oppression may be influencing Black middle-class women’s well-being by the shaping of the distribution of their determinants of well-being. In chapter 3, I focus on subjective well-being at the intersection of race, gender, and class through an intentional focus on Black women in different income classes. Relying on Gallup Daily data from 2010-2016, I explore both intracategorical and intercategorical complexity, comparing well-being and its determinants within race-gender and across it. This work reveals a paradox of well-being for Black women: in every income class, Black women are more optimistic and less stressed than white people, despite having less of the objective factors known to contribute to that well-being. I offer potential explanations for this paradox. Through an intentional focus on Black women, this work takes an early step in unpacking the relationship between policy-relevant objective factors (like financial security surrounding food and healthcare access and relative health status) and subjective well-being in the lives of an American public imbued with racial and gender diversity. The overall results of this study illustrate the importance of qualitative and mixed methods inquiry into the economic, health, and social position of Black women in the U.S. in order to yield further lessons for policies that could benefit this group.Item A New Theory of Individualized Evidence(2021) Barclay, Charles Arthur; Horty, John F; Philosophy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Theories of individualized evidence have been offered to show why, inter alia, we are not justified in finding a defendant legally responsible on the basis of mere statistical evidence even if the probability of his guilt is very high. Yet, there is little discussion of properties that we would want in a robust theory of individualized evidence. In my dissertation, I have four primary goals. First, I propose four desiderata that a robust theory of individualized evidence ought to possess. Then, I show how many contemporary theories of individualized evidence do not possess all four of the desirable properties. I then develop, what I call, legally relevant alternatives (or, LRA for short) - a theory of individualized evidence that is rooted in the relevant alternatives account of knowledge in epistemology. Finally, I show how LRA does satisfy the aforementioned desiderata.Item Autochthonous and Introduced Stores of Biomass Value: Measuring Resilience Outcomes of Enset and Eucalyptus as Green Assets in Three Representative Smallholder Farm Systems of Ethiopia(2020) Morrow, Nathan; Hansen, Matthew C; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Fundamental shifts in the ability to observe our world with synoptic satellite remote sensing and the profusion of trend tracking longitudinal data sources not only better inform us of the mounting trouble our planet is in but also provide completely new perspectives on basic shared understandings, such as how many trees grow on Earth and where they take root. Observing the dispersed pattern of increasing tree cover across a multidecadal satellite mosaic, developed by Matt Hansen and colleagues at University of Maryland at College Park, sparked an interest in the ramifications of this unanticipated change, marked clearly upon the landscape in Ethiopia. The following chapters explore the relation of changing amounts of autochthonous treelike perrenial enset and introduced eucylyptus trees, commonly found on Ethiopian farms, to smallholder resilience, food security, and well-being. Spatially informed longitudinal models for three representative subnational data sets are used to investigate the central thesis of this dissertation—trees and treelike perennials on farms in rural Ethiopia indicate a fundamental store of value in living biomass, building a household’s assets over time through improved biomass management, for resilient small farm livelihoods that ensure food security and related well-being. Green assets acting as biomass stores indicate natural “value,” representing transformed and stored energy of the sun, that Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) considered inadequately captured as a no-cost contribution to the “use value” concept in development economics, economic geography production, and income-focused research, as well as in Marx’s (1887/2013) labor-focused value constructs that only briefly acknowledge workers are helped by the transformative “natural forces” at work on the land. Model results presented in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 reveal a lack of on-farm trees and treelike perennials often indicates biomass poverty and energy insecurity. Chronic biomass poverty, measured with spatially aware hierarchal models, is related to an inability to maintain a sufficient level of essential green assets, thereby contributing to poor resilience and well-being outcomes on small farms. On the other hand, medium and longer term asset accumulation supports improved well-being when livelihood strategies make use of farm forests, other on-farm trees, and treelike perennials.Item Explaining Resilience to Peer Influence: The Role of Decision-Making(2020) Deitzer, Jessica; McGloin, Jean M; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Researchers often discuss deviant peers as if they are a deterministic risk for an adolescent's own delinquency. There is a strong, consistent link between the two, especially in adolescence. Yet, some adolescents act counter to predictions and display resilience to deviant peer influence. Paternoster and Pogarsky’s (2009) concept of thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM) may add to our understanding of resilience to deviant peer exposure; individuals who make slow, deliberate decisions may be more likely to avoid the pitfalls associated with deviant peers, perhaps by selecting out of deviant social networks. In this dissertation, I use longitudinal data from the PROSPER Peers project in the context of adolescents in rural schools to 1) identify and describe a group of youth that displays resilience to deviant peer influence and 2) investigate whether decision-making skills differentiate those who demonstrate resilience from those who do not. I leverage structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the role of TRDM in fostering resilience to deviant peer influence. Specifically, I test whether TRDM moderates the impact of deviant peer exposure on resilience directly or indirectly, through prompting changes to the adolescents’ social networks. I estimate SEM models that test these relationships using interaction and multigroup models separately for each starting wave. I find evidence that TRDM promotes resilience to deviant peer influence across waves. My results also provide evidence of a nonlinear interaction between deviant peer exposure and TRDM, whereby TRDM is most protective for adolescents with a high degree (but not entirely) deviant peer group in for analyses starting in 6th or 7th grade. I do not find evidence of a consistent association between TRDM and a change in adolescents’ proportion of deviant peers at the next wave or any partial or full reduction to the direct impact of TRDM on resilience when including this indirect pathway. Thus, I conclude that TRDM does not appear to have an indirect impact on resilience through prompting prosocial change to adolescents’ friend groups. Finally, I discuss the limitations of my study, along with its implications for theory, practice, and future research.Item Humanitarian Aid and Resilience: A Study of Rural Nepali Educators' Perspectives on Coping and Adaptability in Recreating an Educational Learning Environment for their Students after the 2015 Earthquakes(2020) Corwith, Anne Marie Shimko; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The 2005 Hyogo Framework pointed to the need for countries to increase resilience at the local level and reduce the need for international aid. Nepal, considered a “fragile” state per the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), received significant international aid to meet the aims of Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. When the 2015 earthquakes struck, international aid for education only reached 1% of the youth impacted. This research investigated educators’ perspectives of responding to and recovering from the earthquakes through a mixed-method, multisite case study to answer the questions: As reported by the UNOCHA Education Cluster 3W report, what is the relationship between the intensity and type of humanitarian aid received (school kits, recreation kits, temporary learning centers and teacher training) by schools in the 14 worst earthquake-hit districts, and the distance from Kathmandu and school population? What are the perspectives of community educators on the level and type of humanitarian aid received after the 2015 earthquakes? What coping capacities did educators utilize in order to establish an educational learning environment for their students after the 2015 earthquakes? What adaptive capacities did educators utilize in order to establish an educational learning environment for their students after the 2015 earthquakes? My research found that educators possessed individual resourcefulness, initiative, and personal strength in addition to community trust to respond to the disaster. Educators lacked access to consistent disaster risk and preparedness information. Lastly, rural educators with connections obtained international aid raising perceptions of inequitable distribution of aid.Item Resilience in Formerly Incarcerated Black Women: Racial Centrality and Social Support as Protective Factors(2019) Yee, Stephanie Elza; Shin, Richard Q; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The United States incarcerates a larger percentage of its population than any other country in the world. Women are entering prison at higher rates than men in recent years, especially Black women, who are underrepresented in the criminal justice literature. Very little is known about formerly incarcerated Black women, who experience unique sociocultural challenges such as disproportionate rates of mental health issues, gendered racism, intimate partner violence, and recidivism to prison. This study examined how social support and racial centrality played a role in challenges faced by a sample of 54 formerly incarcerated Black women living in a large metropolitan city in the mid-Atlantic. Two multiple hierarchical regressions were used to explore whether social support and racial centrality moderated the relationship between gendered racism and depression. There was no evidence to indicate that racial centrality predicted depression or acted as a moderator between gendered racism and depression. However, social support was found to moderate the relationship between the variables. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed.